In celebration of the NFL Draft, we've asked the members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to share some of their thoughts and recollections from when they were drafted. Follow a Hall of Famer as he takes a trip down memory lane, and relive draft history.
When Jackie Smith was finishing his collegiate career at Northwestern Louisiana, he had no idea that he was even being considered as a professional football player.
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| Jackie Smith |
"My position coach in college said the Giants had talked to him briefly about my punting ability," the Hall of Fame tight end recently told profootballhof.com "So when I received the telegram from the St. Louis Cardinals notifying me that I had been drafted in the 10th round and would be contacted shortly, I thought someone had made a mistake."
The NFL draft came during a very trying time in Smith's life. His wife was in the hospital having their first child, which they lost. Then, a neighbor in their duplex had just been murdered.
"So trying to understand what being drafted meant in the midst of all this was tough for an ol' country boy from Louisiana to deal with," related Smith.
Although he also received a call from the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders, the Cardinals anted up more money for the 10th round pick. Smith received a $1,000 bonus to go with his $11,000 contract for the '63 season.
"Since my wife and I had been living from weekend to weekend on about $50, $1000 sounded (like) all the money in the world," he said. "I remember walking down the sidewalk immediately in front of the bank in Natchitoches, Louisiana where my college was and looking at the bank savings book with that $1,000 in it trying to contain my happiness." Today, that very same sidewalk is home to a plaque with Smith's name on it.
Unlike what athletes today feel at draft time, Smith never felt that the draft was an anticipated or wearing event.
"It was a surprise and the beginning of a wonderful experience for me and my family. We were lucky and we are thankful to have had such an opportunity," he recalled.
Hall of Famers Taken in the 1963 NFL/AFL Draft
John Mackey, TE, Baltimore Colts - 2nd round (19th overall)
Jackie Smith, TE, St. Louis Cardinals - 10th round (129th overall)
Buck Buchanan, T, Dallas Texans(AFL) - 1st round (1st overall)
Bobby Bell, LB, Dallas Texans(AFL) - 7th round (56th overall)